There are but a few days ahead of Christmas, and one of the few people remaining on your shopping list is a digital artist of sorts.Your best friend, or close relative, is a digital artist. The best present you’ve ever managed to think of for them was a graphic novel, or perhaps a framed print.Or socks.Now is the time to right these previous wrongs and find some incredible gifts that the digital artist in your life will really appreciate and be able to use. Want to stand out? This is how you do it — and they’ll love you for it, guaranteed.

How does your digital artist want to express themselves? Do they first draw on paper, scan, and import into their favorite package? Or do they want to be able to draw directly into the software? Graphics tablets come in all shapes and sizes, and they make great gifts for digital artists. For instance, the good quality but low budget XP-Pen graphics tablet makes a good gift.

Or perhaps you decide that the interactive displays of the high-end tools, such as the Wacom Cintiq 13HD Interactive Pen Display, are more suited to the person you’re buying for (like a standard tablet, it plugs into your computer as a stylus-sensitive touch display).

As the one of largest consumer digital graphics tablet brand in the world, XP-Pen has received a lot of support from their customers since founded. It can be said that XP-Pen's achievements cannot be separated from the support and love of customers. So, XP-Pen have attached great importance to customers’ opinions and feedback which are conducive to optimize XP-Pen products.

In order to thank customers for their valuable advice and love for XP-Pen , XP-Pen would like to express their thanks to dearest customers by giving some special offers in the upcoming Christmas Day. you can get a coupon code from $5 off ~ $30 off and use it in the XP-Pen offical Store . you can get the code in this page : https://www.storexppen.com/coupon/index . the christmas Promotion day : from December 07 to December 31, 2018 .

In earlier times when there were no drawing tablets or graphics tablets, artists used to draw an art with a piece of paper and a brush. They had to keep a variety of brushes with different thickness to show off their drawing skills. If something goes wrong with the art there wasn’t any solution for erasing it and hence, artists were facing hard times with painting.

However, things were made simpler after the launch of software like Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and Autodesk Sketchbook on computers. Most of the artists then switched to digital painting as these software were offering tons of useful tools including some advanced features which revolutionized the way of composing an art.

Still, mouse and keyboard inputs failed to deliver accuracy. To resolve this complication, Wacom came up with a tool which could replicate hand-drawn art on the computer screen, technically known as Graphics Tablet. The Wacom Intuos Pro & Intuos Draw are popular examples of it as they are considered as best drawing tablets in the market.

You're probably aware of Wacom’s popular Cintiq models by now, which are favoured by many artists, illustrators and designers. Although this is exciting, and Wacom is usually the preferred tablet manufacturers for artists, it will cost US$ 1,000 and more for the standard version and even more for the Touch version.

many of digital artists have already expressed how you would love to use a Wacom Cintiq, but the price is just out of the question. Financial restrictions should never be a reason to stop you from creating art. Luckily there are more affordable tablet options that exist for artists.

The decision in choosing Wacom isn’t difficult. Wacom is clearly one of the most popular brands in drawing tablets. But it does make me wonder, are there alternatives? because wacom is so expensive And if there are tablets worthy of even being compared to Wacom, are they even worth a try?

XP-Pen is an artist specific company which only makes artist supplies such as tablets and display monitors. They are the only Wacom alternative that I have come across which offers battery-free pens consistently for all their graphic tablets. Not all of their drawing monitors (Artist 16 Pro / Artist 22 Pro / Artist 22E Pro ) use battery-free pens though.

Personal Notes

-XP-Pen is fairly established company in year 2005 , so they are quite trustworthy.-Their graphic tablets are all quite good and the “age” of each tablet is fairly easy to figure out as they are named in order from oldest to newest (ex. Star 03 is older than Star 04).-Their drawing monitors are all quite respectable, but I have heard that the monitor colours are not very well calibrated out-of-the-box.-XP-Pen is currently the only company which offers company-developed Linux drivers (still in beta testing). Wacom’s Linux drivers are community-developed, and are not actually official drivers, so XP-Pen is the first to do this.

Well, if you’re a digital artist and planning to buy the best drawing tablet, then pressure sensitivity, size and accuracy are the key specifications to look for and it’s probably not an easy task to figure out what fits in your requirements.

Most of the graphics tablets work as a connected device, means you will need a separate monitor. While some high-end graphics tablets even include a display, means you can draw your art on the same surface where it appears. Generally, these high-end graphics tablets fall into the expensive category and are mostly used by professionals.

Below are the features you should consider while buying a graphics tablet for drawing.

• Size – While buying a graphics tablet for drawing, the size makes a big difference. The greater surface area will give you plenty of space to draw, and they often come with higher input qualities and more shortcut keys, hence efficient working.

• Pressure Sensitivity – Graphic tablets capture the motion of your pen as well as your pressure information. Many of these tablets come with pressure sensitivity which tracks the amount of pressure, meaning when you apply pressure on the pen while drawing, it will render a thicker line. Note that the tablets with 2048 pressure levels capture more information than those with 1024 pressure levels. On a simple note, the more pressure sensitivity will give you more variety in thickness of line.

• Controls / Shortcut Keys – Many graphics tablets come with functional keys which can be programmed according to your needs. Some models include keys around the drawing area while some models include keys on the pen. Functional keys on pen can save your time, allowing you to reach shortcuts and your favorite settings directly without navigating on the tablet.

• Resolution (of the screen) (Only applies to drawing monitors)

HD (High Definition) is 1280x720p or above, FHD (Full High Definition) is 1920x1080p or above, QHD (Quad High Definition) is 2560x1440p or above, and UHD (Ultra High Definition) is 3840x2160p resolution aka 4K resolution.

• Display Type (of the screen) (Only applies to drawing monitors)

I simplify display types into two types of TFT LCDs (Thin-Film-Transistor Liquid-Crystal Displays) for drawing monitors: TN and IPS.

TN displays have faster response times, but have very bad viewing angles causing screen colours to look different from different angles. However, TN displays are much easier to manufacture, causing them to be much cheaper than IPS displays. TN displays are more meant for gaming where fast screen response times are key and colour reproduction is not as important.IPS displays have slower response times than a TN display, but allows you to view the same colours from basically all angles. An IPS display is the better choice for a drawing monitor because of the importance of proper colour reproduction in art.

I see the XP-Pen coupon page , now about ten products participated in this deals event . below is the list of them .please notice that all of xp-pen drawing monitors already have a matte screen protection so you don't need to buy it alone. all of xp-pen drawing tablets that with or without screen have a drawing glove .

15.6″ Full HD dust-free display with 1920x1080 full HD resolution and wide viewing angle, enhanced visual experience is what XP-Pen Artist 16 Pro offers you on its first sight. A well protected high strength toughened glass and rubber covers, anti-scratch and shockproof outer structure would simply make you fall for it and its convenient utilization which allows you to naturally and intuitively sketch paint, design, and edits on the screen is also a treat for the artists.

Precise and natural pen pressure control and speed up the boost to your drawing efficiency would definitely interest you as this tablet has an 8192-level pressure sensitive rechargeable pen to do so. A simple set-up with your PC or Mac which is compatible with most of the graphics software such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator CC, Corel Painter and Autodesk Sketchbook etc., ergonomically makes it more comfortable and provides you with a distinguished drawing experience. Overall, the XP-Pen Artist 16 Pro is a complete package and best value for money tablet for artists.

the difference between Artist 16 Pro and Artist 15.6 is that : The Artist 16 Pro has 92% Adobe RGB, the Artist 15.6 has 75%. you can use artist15.6 without display stand . but artist 16 pro was come with a display Stand . the input connect is also not same , the artist 16 pro / artist 22 pro / artist 22e pro was connect by HDMI , VGA ,USB , the artist 12/ artist 13.3/ artist 15.6 was connect to computer by 3-1 cable .this three are portable display monitors .

XP-Pen Artist 16 Pro customers review

AMAZING product! I'll admit I was a bit worried before ordering because of some bad reviews but I honestly couldn't be happier with it. Arrived on time and was packaged well, everything came a-okay.

I had been wanting a Wacom cintiq for a long while but of course can't afford it, and heard about xp-pen through a YouTube artist I watch. Definitely money well spent! Been drawing non stop on this thing!

Shipping was fast and package arrive perfectly. I was planning on the 10s but the screen size look to small for me so I went and got the artist 16 pro and it's perfect. Installing it wasn't too bad, it was my first display tablet so I had a few trouble starting to set it up but once I did a few google searches I was set.

Overall it's a very affordable and a nice drawing tablet for beginners like me and would recommend to anyone that wants a display drawing tablet that are on a budget!

So I had everything calibrating and spent about 4-5 hours drawing and coloring on paint sai and so far it's good! Loving it so far! I was messing around with bright/contrast and rubbing it with my glove all over the place lol .

2. Up to $30 off XP-Pen Artist 22 Pro 21.5" IPS Pen Display Monitor

the XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro enables you to draw direct onto its screen. It's generously sized so you can go large with your brush strokes, but the stylus is sensitive enough to cope with your most subtle expressions, too. The stand takes some getting used to, but enables you to switch between a near-flat configuration for drawing and an upright position for when you want to use the Artist 22E Pro as a regular monitor.

the difference between Artist 22 Pro and Artist 22 Pro is that Artist22 Pro doesn't have 16 hotkeys .

XP-Pen Artist 22 Pro customers review

I took a serious chance on this tablet. I'm a professional sculptor and digital painter, so this is how I make my money and dropping $600 on anything isn't something I'd do lightly. I also don't have an overabundance of free time. Also, I'm trying to make a move away from WACOM products because of how overpriced their goods are compared to the recent decline in build quality.

The XP-Pen Artist 22 is a fantastic tablet. Hands down. If you're in the market for a Cintiq, get this instead. It's far less expensive and from what I can see, really, really well made. I've had mine since the beginning of May and it's drastically sped up my work. **Pros:**

* Amazing. I'm not even going to say "amazing for the price" because this thing is pretty damn awesome.* Extremely responsive, very slight parallax and super easy to get used to drawing on.* Colours are extremely true.* Calibration is just fine out of the box but you can mess with it if you want.* Doubles really nicely as a second monitor* HD really is HD. Stuff looks great on here. Being able to work at full resolution is nice too.* Comfy, solid pens that feel nice in the hand and are nice to draw with. (When you are at this thing for 8 hours a day, you begin to appreciate the small things!)* Puts off a tiny, tiny amount of heat. Less than my "actual" monitor next to it!* VESA conversion was super easy. Just pop off the stand on the back and throw the VESA mount bracket on and you're good to go.

**Cons / really should be called "minor annoyances."**

These are in no particular order. Just as they come to me. I'm also being super specific so people know what they are getting into, but none of this wall of text outweighs how good this tablet is.

* Pen charging. I mean. It's not a big deal, you get two pens and a bajillionty replacement nibs in a nifty holder. A charge has lasted me the better part of a month. I think there's a passive pen floating around but I'm really not bothered by it.* You will have to futz with this thing a bit to get it to talk to Windows 10.This is, as I understand it, not XPPEN's fault and a result of Windows' s***ty tablet PC protocols. What you need to do: **DO NOT PLUG IN THE TABLET BEFORE INSTALLING THE DRIVERS OFF OF THE XPPEN WEBSITE.** Get the most recent ones. Install them. THEN plug the unit in. If you're using it as a second monitor, make sure the driver recognizes where you've got the tablet set up.* Drivers are a little barebones, but I have the feeling they'll get better with time.* If you have a light touch like I do with tablets, you will need to turn the pressure sensitivity in the drivers all the way down. Still a little firm for my tastes but I got used to it. Wish I could make it a little more sensitive, but tbh messing with brush settings in Photoshop appears to have helped a bit.* Screen cover is kind of a pain to put on, but what giant sticky plastic sheet wouldn't be. Put it on, btw. Scratches are no bueno.* No side buttons / hotkeys. Not at all a big deal for me.* You're absolutely gonna need a VESA mount. Good thing this thing is VESA compatible. Anyway, if you're using one of these you should just have one anyway. Maybe it's just my desk setup, but I prefer having the thing on a swingy arm.* Bottom-mounted cables. Sort of annoying. Not really a big deal with a VESA mount.

Shipping was great, tablet arrived with absolutely no dead pixels and was securely, neatly packed in its own little box. You get a bunch of free stuff with it too; it includes all of the cables you could possibly need as far as I know, a neato anti-fouling glove, two tablet pens, a dust brushy thing and a screen cover. Some other stuff too. The company was very friendly and lovely to work with. I didn't need to use their customer service but word is they're very helpful.

Upgraded Firmware – Provides a more accurate and responsive cursor positioning experience for drawing; It fulfills users the efficiency needed for greater productivity.

21.5” IPS Monitor – With 16.7 million colors and 1920×1080 resolution, the new Artist 22 Pro gives you the most colorful screen display. The aspect ratio of is 16:9, the contrast ratio 1000:1, brightness 250 cd/m2, and 14ms response time.

Newly Designed Pen – Comes with the same stylus as Artist 22E Pro that recognizes 8192 pressure levels; It is lightweight and fully covered by very fine rubber.

Living in Australia, we pretty much only have 1 visual tablet choice: Wacom. I couldn't justify the insane price in AUD so went looking for other options. After doing a hell of a lot of research on the previous model of XP-Pen (Artist 22 Pro) and seeing the 22E Pro was about to come out, I decided to jump in and purchase one based on the otherwise great reviews of the Artist22 Pro. I'll try and keep this short.

PRO'S:- Product shipped to Australia in perfect condition 5 days after making payment (Inc 3 days for AUD to clear to USD).- All express buttons work, are responsive and are able to be remapped.- No dead pixels.- Easy to set up, install & configure. No driver issues .- Great pixel quality, contrast, depth of color & response time.- Great level of pen sensitivity and accuracy.- Pens charge quite fast and seem to last 50 hours+ (time used, so far...)- Heaps of additional chords and accessories.- Chord connections on the side, unlike the previous model meaning there is no bending and stressing on the chords or connections when angle is changed.- Doubles perfectly as a second or third monitor for other general use.- Sturdy build quality, easy to adjust stand, solid and responsive buttons.

CON'S- No DVI cable included. VGA is so outdated, I don't know why they include one of those in preference to DVI.

- Going from max horizontal to max vertical seating, I'd recommend a pen tracking re-calibration due to the angle change. This is literally a 15 second process though, so once again, a very minor complaint.

Overall this is an amazing tablet for the price - The pro's vastly outweigh the con's as the con's are only minor quality of life annoyances. I'm so glad I did my research on the previous model in order to cement risking giving this a go. I do not regret it at all .

4. Up to $20 off XP-Pen Artist 15.6 15.6" IPS Display Tablet Monitor

The XP-Pen Artist 15.6 is the best seller of xp-pen drawing tablets with screen . Featuring a sharp 15.6 inch IPS display, the Artist 15.6 is really very comfortable to work with, the size of texts and palettes didn’t felt too small when our experts at Tablet Under Budget tested out. With 16.7 million colors, the Artist 15.6 gives you probably the most color-rich experience while drawing on its Full HD screen.

Along with the new design and display, the firmware has also been upgraded which provides responsive and accurate cursor positioning to make drawing experience sharper. Talking about Pen, the generation ergonomically designed Pen P05 has the ability to sense 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity which will enable you to draw a variety of lines depending on the amount of pressure you apply. Its compatibility with Windows and Mac operating system makes this one of the most widely used devices by artists and graphic designers for their work as it provides Wacom Cintiq level of features at an affordable price of $430.

XP-Pen Artist 15.6 customers review

Just unboxed earlier today, it's so smooth and nice but it did take forever to get the drivers and everything calibrated. I love the fact that it's only 0.4 inches smaller than the Xp-pen Artist 16 but it's like $140 bucks less??

Calibation of color and pen to screen is a must out of the box. Express keys feel solid. Matte finish screen protector is applied to screen already. Matte protector Dilutes colors a bit but adds a feel of grip you get when drawing on paper. Small offset between pen and cursor. Light weight but sturdy. 15.6 is huge for me even though i upgraded from a medium intous pro 5. Easy to set up. Works great in Clip Studio, mischeif, sketchbook(some strokes wobble), and medibang. The 8000 lvl of pressure sense is nice but if you want an even pressure on the low end that feels evenly distributed youll never get to use all 8000 unless you press so hard you break the screen i imagine. Im sure drivers in the future will fix this. Love mine.

If you're a student, hobbyist, amateur artist, or just looking to get your first graphics display tablet, I would definitely recommend considering this product. For the price, this tablet works great and its size and quality is quite nice. I've had this tablet for roughly a month and so far I haven't had any issues. I run Windows 10 and mainly use Paint Tool SAI, Clip Studio Paint, and Photoshop CC. Just make sure that you uninstall any tablet drivers on your PC before setup and that you download the latest drivers from XP-Pen's website.

Setting up the tablet is very easy. Just follow the instructions and you should have no issue. Calibration and color configuration is also pretty simple.

Pros:Installation and setup is simpleGood size and quality for priceNice resolutionComes with accessories such as pen charger, extra nibs, artist glove, cloth to clean screen, and extra cablesExpress keysParallax is minimal for a cintiq alternativeGood build quality

Not a pro for the tablet, but XP-Pen has a pretty in-depth FAQ on their website for troubleshooting. Look here for getting the tablet to work with SAI.

Cons:Pressure level needed to activate the pen is higher than I'm used toNo pen tilt functionalityWires to connect tablet to PC can be kinda annoyingColors could be better

5. Up to $20 off XP-Pen Artist 13.3 13.3" IPS Drawing Tablet Monitor

Whether you're right or left-handed, you can comfortably draw directly onto the screen of this XP-Pen tablet with the Stylus P05 , which has 8192 levels pressure sensitivity. The pen responds to the slightest touch, and you can have complete control over brush width and opacity. 6 Customisable keys, The 1920x1080 HD screen features Adobe RGB colour quality.

There’s also lag-free tracking, and you can connect the Artist 13.3 straight to your Mac or PC with the included USB-C cable. It's compatible with the versions of Windows 7/8/10 (32bit / 64 bit ) and Mac OS 10.10.0 and above , not to mention its lightweight and small design, making it compact to carry with you.

XP-Pen Artist 13.3 customers review

Honestly, if I could give 4.5 stars, I would. If you're looking for an affordable 13" cintiq off-brand alternative, this is basically it.

Pros:+ Lovely packaging--very minimalistic+ Provides a number of chargers for different regional power outlets+ Medium size at 1920x1080+ Easy installation; comes in a USB instead of CD (I decided to be safe and download the driver on their website though). Fair warning though! Your PC/laptop might reset when trying to install--this is normal. Don't panic and remember to uninstall any previous tablet drivers beforehand!+ The pen stand also acts as a nib remover!+ Very good sensitivity even at 2048 levels; your brush strokes will have noticeable difference with a light touch+ Easy customization and settings

Cons:- The one major thing I noticed while drawing was that when I tried drawing circles or any curved lines, the lines themselves would be slightly jagged/blocky- The display WILL be different from your monitor--you're going to have to adjust the settings until it is similar to your main monitor- Split display is a bit finicky--could be a NVIDIA thing- No stand for the tablet itself--you would need to buy one if you want it at a certain angle- NEEDS to be calibrated- Be careful with the nib remover on the bottom of the pen stand; I tested it out and it created a very noticeable cut on my current nib. This can lead to scratches on the screen.

All in all, it's an incredibly affordable alternative medium display tablet with some minor hiccups that can be overlooked.

XP-Pen Artist 12 is one of the most affordable Wacom Cintiq alternatives for those who want to draw directly & naturally on the screen. How? Its IPS LCD panels, applies the new mirror design with smooth and ease of movement, bringing in high definition and high brightness visual experience. 8192 levels Pressure Sensitivity, Control line thickness, color and transparency conveniently provide the value for money experience an artist expects from a drawing tablet. Moreover, the XP-Pen Artist 12 HD is ultra thin and light so that you can carry it anywhere easily. it easily fits in your backpack or briefcase so that you can carry it to School or Work without having to look at an extra case.

It has Full HD resolution and 6 express keys on-board and 1 touch-bar with which you can work without placing the keyboard near you and especially with this kind of Full HD screen size, pressure sensitivity of the display and viewing angle of the screen which is high enough, are also the best part of this tablet to make it a great option for an artist’s hand. Its compatibility with the most common operating systems makes this a good device for artists. Depending on your needs, you can make it your device of choice for creating artworks or use it temporarily until you can afford Wacom Cintiq.

you can also get $15 off for normal version . this is the smallest drawing monitors of xp-pen artist series .the P06 Stylus have digital eraser function .

XP-Pen Artist 12 customers review

Being that the Artist 12 is only $250, I was a little skeptical before trying it out myself. However this tablet is amazing! I love this tablet! It works so well and is a great price!

- Setup was quick and easy, I had no problems.- The Artist 12 is very responsive. There was no lag while drawing.- The express keys are easy to customize and also work very well.- The display is also excellent, it's very vibrant and crisp.

I really enjoy drawing on the Artist 12. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a tablet with a screen. I am definitely not disappointed and it has exceeded my expectations.

I couldn’t be more happy with this purchase! This thing is sweet! Slim profile sleek look great design. Works great with my Mac and has preformed perfect with PS, Krita, I have even used it for some 3D modeling! Great size (11.6”) display area. .453” thick. It has 6 shortcut keys with a touch bar that are all programmable. HD display that seems to have better resolution than my MacBook. The pen is very comfortable that doesn’t require charging. The pen has 8192 levels of pressure that you can adjust to your drawing technique. The tablet comes with all the required cables to get you up and running including a glove and screen wipe. I have had a blast with this device and would 100% recommend it. Thank you xp pen for making an affordable graphics tablet!

7. Up to $15 off Wireless XP-Pen DECO 03 Drawing Pen Tablet

XP-Pen is a powerful graphics tablet which is not so high on a budget. It sports 10x5.62 inch drawing area and a touch ring and 6 customizable shortcut keys for your artwork. The pressure sensitivity of 8192 levels enables you to draw a variety of lines depending on the amount pressure you apply. More the pressure sensitivity will be, better the accuracy you will get. The XP-Pen DECO 03 drawing tablet is compatible with Windows 7 and above in Windows OS and also comes with Mac OS compatibility, making it easy to use and work with.

In terms of connectivity, it comes with 2.4GHz wireless network support, which not only makes it seamless in drawing, painting, and sketching but also makes it easy to pair with other devices through a network. As far as the battery backup on this drawing tablet is concerned about, it comes with a 2500mAh battery, which the company claims to provide over 40 hours of continuous usage to draw with.

XP-Pen DECO 02 is a pretty pocket-friendly graphics-stationed tablet which is though priced half as less as its rivals but as powerful. The tablet comes with a 10 x 5.63-inch drawing area and sports a 5080 LPI resolution. The tablet has a very impressive report rate and can register about 266 reports per second. This drawing pad comes with a touch ring and 6 user-defined shortcuts, using which the user can set their custom shortcuts as per the convenience and requirement.

Similar to the other expensive rivals in the list the XP-Pen DECO 02 comes with 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity pen P05, which gives the feel of drawing on a paper. This tablet supports the wide range of operating systems and supports all Windows OS and Mac OS X 10.10 and above. Ugee has decent collaborations with various companies and therefore, it can be used with Photoshop, Photoshop CC, Illustrator, Lightroom, Corel Painter, Autodesk MAYA, Pixologic ZBrush, and much more. All in all, this is a perfect pick if you’re tight on budget and looking for a feature-packed graphics tablet for drawing and designing.

Pros : large drawing area size , the digital pen have eraser function. you can get a holiday version for this tablet .

Well, if you’re just starting with digital painting and looking for a drawing tablet to hone your drawing skills, then the XP-Pen Deco 01 is probably the best in the segment in terms of features and pressure sensitivity. Yes, the XP-Pen Deco 01 can detect pressure sensitivity up to 8192 levels which is indeed a very good feature for users to draw varying width of lines and enhance their creativity. Moreover, the active area of 10 x 6.25 inch offer enough space to draw on which lights up at night so that you can draw conveniently even in dark conditions. The Deco 01’s thickness is only 8 mm which also doesn’t weigh much making it easy for you to throw it in your backpack.

The XP-Pen Deco 01 is designed with both right and left-hand users in mind, there are basically 8 express keys on the left which help you maximize your workflow and delivering the most ergonomic and convenient platform to draw on in its segment. The pen that comes with the package is battery-free so you don’t need to charge it as there is no way of running out of battery. However, the tablet needs to be connected to your PC or laptop via USB Type-C cable. Moreover, the quick toggle button onboard lets you switch between pen and eraser instantly. Overall, the XP-Pen Deco 01 is one of the best value for money drawing tablets offering a package of features at an extremely affordable price of $60 which even slightly expensive Wacom Intuos misses out.

The XP-Pen Star G640S is a great entry-level drawing tablet which is very spacious and makes it very easy for both single and double hand usage.

Thanks to ergonomic pen and textured work surface of this XP-Pen Star G640S Signature Pad; you'll enjoy the freedom and familiar feel of pen on paper. Made of high-quality material and with delicate craftsmanship, it is now accepted by more and more people. This advanced product can help to activate your own habitual shortcuts and modify them.

Apart from graphic applications, XP-Pen Signature Star G640S is also widely used in Microsoft word for annotation, which is indeed useful for office workers. The pad is a professional graphic designing tool. Additionally, you can edit photos professionally wherever you want as it is easy and convenient to bring along. Are you interested in this product? Do not hesitate anymore!

Features:

1. With ergonomic pen and textured surface2. Easy and convenient to use and carry3. Provide you with a platform to show your talent4. It is an indeed useful item especially for office workers5. Compact size with delicate design, it has good hand feeling6. Electromagnetic digitizer technology has been applied7. A wireless pen inside to make your operation more conveniently

Hello! Last Month I finally decided to splurge on an XP-Pen Artist 12 display drawing tablet Monitor . I had purchased a XP-Pen Star 03 ages ago and continued using that for years (over three years to be precise). The Star 03 served me well and I used it on both my Mac and the PC successfully for quite some time with relatively good results. Of course, I didn't know what I was missing. Those $49 definitely went a long way.

I did quite a bit of research before settling on the XP-Pen Artist 12 . the Artist 12 Pen Display offered unparalleled freedom and flawless hand/eye coordination (you draw directly on the screen) .Today I'll take a closer look at the XP-Pen Artist 12 display tablet, It was both fun and challenging, Hope you'll enjoy the Article .

The XP-Pen Artist 12 is XP-Pen’s newest tablet with a fully-laminated textured screen, 72% NTSC colour gamut, battery-free pen . From just looking at the specs, this tablet is quite appealing with top of the line features across the board and a competitive price.

While the small form factor makes it easy to carry the drawing monitor around in a normal size laptop bag, there are a lot more awesome features too which makes the and undeniable deal.

A 22-inch monitor like the XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro takes up a lot of desk space. If you don't have much desk space in the first place, you might need to buy a mount or arm to hold up the monitor in a comfortable position to draw on. If you have an L-shaped table layout, then you could put the drawing monitor on the side table, and the main keyboard and computer on the main table, but for a single table it's hard to imagine where you can put a 22-inch monitor without it getting in the way.

On the other hand, a 12-inch tablet like the XP-Pen Artist 12 will be much easier to make desk space for. You'll probably just need to put the Star 03 away and that should be almost enough space for the Artist 12 , plus you will be able to comfortably reach other a 12-inch monitor to type on the keyboard behind it.

It feels nice having a big 22-inch monitor, but unless you've figured out a space for it, it's really hard to include it in your workspace .because I personally never really needed drawing monitors larger than 15.6-inch, especially while they still only offer 1920x1080p resolution which can look pixellated on larger monitors when viewed up close to draw.

Other 13-inch Wacom alternative tablets actually do come a bit cheaper at ~460 USD (tablet stand price included) compared to the XP-Pen Artist 12’s 250 USD price However, I believe the Artist 12 completely justifies its higher price with its quality and features.If you’re looking for a good drawing monitor, I think the Artist 12 is a very compelling option , you can get it from Amazon USA : https://www.amazon.com/XP-PEN-Artist12-Battry-Free-Multi-Function-Sensitivity/dp/B07GNK18VJ .

Since its conception in 2005, XP-Pen has been dedicated to research, design, production, and marketing of digital tablets. Their team is committed to endless innovation with the goal of bringing every artist into the digital age with tools and technology to suit their individual needs. They believe that their products should adapt to the needs of our clients—not the other way around.

XP-Pen utilizes proprietary electromagnetic handwriting input technology as a core technology and it has developed application products in various fields such as digital panels, digital screens, copy boards, electronic school bags and electronic endorsements. They already a long running sales network and with Shenzhen at the core.

First impression

Starting off with the sleek design, the tablet is really thin which makes it easy to use and carry. It has a sturdy build which screams quality. Also, the display is laminated and has good colors which is necessary for a drawing monitor. It comes with multiple programmable keys so you can always program a particular button to perform a specific function. On the tablet, there is only one single USB Type-C port for connection which is awesome. Kudos to XP-Pen for following the latest USB Type-C standard.

The pen which the tablet comes with is battery free so there is no hassle to charge the pen up before using it. There is a pen holder in the box which also houses 8 extra pen tips and a tip replacement mechanism. The drawing pen works really well and the pressure sensitivity is amazing which I will discuss late in the review. All the necessary stuff comes right in the package which means you don’t have to spend extra buck for cables or stuff.

Specifications:

Dimension- 364*218*10mm

Active Area- 256 × 144mm 11.6 inch diagonal

Screen Resolution- 1920x1080

Display Type- IPS LCD

NTSC Color Gamut- 72% (roughly 100% sRGB)

Contrast- 700:1

Video Interface- Type-C

Viewing Angle- 178°

Response Time- 14ms

Resolution- 5080 LPI

Pen Type- Battery-less Pen

Pen Buttons: 2 side buttons, have eraser

Pen Pressure- 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity

Reading Height- 12mm

Multi-touch: No

Pen Tilt Sensitivity: No

OS Compatibility- MacOS 10.8 or above, Windows 7 or above

Unboxing

Artist 12 Pen Display Drawing Monitor comes in a wide White color box. On the front, there is an image of the drawing tablet itself along with branding and stuff. The box is made out of good quality material and the overall package weighs around 2.36KG. Removing the upper lid of the box reveals the tablet covered in a transparent sheet which gives a sense of quality.

Talking out the tablet and opening up the dividing lid reveals the accessories which comes with the tablet. Take a look at the list of accessories

All the stuff inside the box from cable to stand screams quality. XP-Pen took extra efforts to design all accessories with high quality material. The drawing tablet come with a screen protector pre-installed which you need to remove before you start using the tablet.

The tablet feels decently sturdy when twisting it between my hands, and I do not think it will break easily from normal use. It should be noted that I do not see any scratches or worn out areas on the screen despite drawing on it intensively for almost 2 weeks. The pen nib also has not worn down at all despite the screen being textured.

Also, the extra tips for the pen (8 to be specific) can be used when the one of the pen wears out. Artist 12 comes with all the useful stuff right in the box so you don’t have to buy anything separately. Overall, the unboxing experience is pretty decent for the price.

Design and Build

XP-Pen Artist 12 is no doubt a sleek and stylish drawing monitor. It has the perfect displays size and dimensions to be carried around easily in a regular laptop bag. The tablet is quite slim considering that it doesn’t comes with a stand built in, rather it has one in the box. To be exact, the dimensions of the are 14.3 x 8.6 x 0.4 inches and the weight of the tablet is around 0.8KG.

Artist 12 is made out of smooth plastic on the front, the rear panel is the same . The plastic panel provides more durability to the tablet in case of accidental fall. There is only a single color option available. Talking about the front of the drawing tablet, it has a Full HD screen on the front along with six keys and 1 touch bar.

On the back are four round rubber feet on both sides of the tablet. If you are using this tablet without the tablet stand, those rubber feet will keep the tablet in place on your desk.

the six keys are programmable which means you can assign them to perform a particular function. All the buttons are click and have nice tactile feedback to them. The touch bar isn’t actually programmable but has various mode like pen size, zoom in or out etc.

Display Quality

Having a screen on a drawing tablet really helps to draw better since you can actually see the place you are going to draw. This provides an experience like drawing on a notebook. XP-Pen Artist 12 comes with a 13 inch IPS LCD display which look pretty great.

Talking about the resolution, the display on the Artist 12 has a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080. While there are other big tablets with similar resolution too, the screen of the is much sharper because of the compact display which means higher pixel density. Viewing angles are great, however, sometimes the display appears dark when looked from some extreme angles. This is a non-issue though because you won’t be looking at it from any extreme angles while drawing. Overall, the IPS screen is very good. One thing to remember is that the display doesn’t support touch input.

According to XP-Pen, the display on the Artist 12 covers 72% NTSC color gamut which when tested turns out to be true. This means that the drawing tablet can be used for color accurate works. The color setting out of the box look good, although, if you are not happy with the settings you can always manually tweak the colors by going through the OSD options.

Features

XP-Pen Artist 12 comes with plenty of useful features which makes drawing really fun. While some of the functions are really helpful, other are there to be used when felt necessary. While using the tablet, we never felt that any major or necessary feature was missing. Let’s take a look at some of the key features of the drawing tablet.

Battery Free Pen

The Artist 12 comes with a battery-less pen P06. Since there is no battery, the pen doesn’t need recharging or battery replacement. What’s really impressing is that the pen works really well and is on the same level as the other high quality battery powered drawing pens. The pen have a plastic body but still provides smooth grip.

Also, the tablet comes with a doughnut shaped pen holder P06 which hold the pen in a vertical position.There are 8 extra nibs in the pen stand along with a nib remover in the middle.

Surprisingly, the rubber which they used for the grip did not become slippery despite me using it after applying hand cream. It also does not collect dust and can easily be cleaned off.

The top of the pen have a digital eraser. you can use this function by rotate the pen . Same applies here its really hard to estimate whether or not somebody preference is actually useful or not. Personally i do not use the eraser much in PS. But I do use it quite much in sketchbook pro.

Highest Product Configuration

8192 levels of pressure sensitivity, 266PPS report rate, 5080 LPI handwriting resolution, 72% NTSC color gamut, a brightness of 250cd/m2, 10mm sensor height, 178°full viewing angles, 14ms response time and 14g initial activation force are all the highest configurations in the industry. You can make all your creations come alive on the canvas like drawing on real paper.

Customizable Keys

XP-Pen Artist 12 comes with 6 Keys on the front are reprogrammable. With the desktop app you can configure the particular keys to perform the desired function when pressed

Compatibility

XP-Pen Artist 12 supports almost all the latest and old operating systems. It supports Windows 7 or above and Mac OS 10.12 or above. The connection interface on the Tablet is Type-C.

Tablet drivers

The tablet drivers are extremely easy to install. You don’t even need to have your tablet plugged in to install them! Just go download the latest version from XP-Pen.com and remove all other tablet drivers you have on your computer before installing it.

Once you’ve installed the driver, the icon shows up in your taskbar, and the driver also creates a shortcut on your desktop so you don’t have to go searching for it in your apps.

Although the installer doesn’t prompt you to restart your computer after it finishes, I wholeheartedly suggesting restarting your computer anyways to allow Windows to properly update the files necessary for the driver to run smoothly.

In the driver, you can configure your tablet expresskeys, pen buttons, pen pressure curve, and work area.

There’s also an option to save different profiles manually using the import and export buttons in the “About” section.Currently, the XP-Pen drivers do not have a feature for automatically switching profiles based on your currently open application, so you can only change your profiles manually when switching between programs.

The Press Keys tab allows you to customize the functions mapped to your expresskeys. As you can see above, the hotkeys menu has keyboard shortcuts, pen clicks, and some “switch” functions available. The drop down menu for the keyboard shortcuts has every keyboard key that I can think of.The only thing that I notice is missing is the double click function, but I guess it’s pretty easy to just double tap your pen instead so that can’t even be considered a problem. However, it would be a nice addition either way.

The touch bar is non-customizable, and according to the user manual it has 3 preset functions (brush size +/-, zoom in/out, and scroll up/down) which can be toggled using the bottom shortcut key.I have suggested making the touch bar customizable to XP-Pen though, so future driver updates may make the touch bar more flexible. However, I believe you should be buying this tablet expecting to use a keyboard for your shortcuts.I personally need at least 8 shortcut keys to do my full drawing process on the tablet, so the 6 shortcut keys and 1 touch bar on the XP-Pen Artist 12 were not even close to enough for me. With this tablet, I opted to use my keyboard for all my shortcuts instead.

It is important to note that the ‘Enable Touch’ option is referring to the touchbar, not finger touch functions. This tablet does not have finger touch capabilities.

The Digital Pen tab allows you to customize the pen buttons and the pen pressure curve. The pen buttons have the same amount of configuration as the expresskeys.

Usually you will need to uncheck the “Enable Windows Ink” option to prevent Windows Ink from messing with your drawing. That said, some programs such as Photoshop usually do not work if it is not turned on, so play with that option as you see fit.

The Work Area tab allows you to customize the monitor your tablet is mapped to, the pen calibration, and the orientation of your pen inputs.

To use this tablet in left-handed mode, right-click on your desktop and select ‘Display settings’, then scroll down and change the Orientation to “landscape (flipped)’. Then go into the XP-Pen driver and go to the Work Area tab, and select 180 degrees under the Rotate settings.

As a note for Windows 10 users, the default scaling in the Windows Display Settings is set to 150%, so you should go and change that to 72%. With Windows 8.1, the default was 72%. I’m not sure why Windows 10 defaults to 150%.

Setting up

XP-Pen Artist 12 Pen Tablet Monitor Digital Tablet has a 3-in-1 port to connect with laptop, and power. 2 for laptop, HDMI port and USB port, and the rest one is for power.

The tablet has a single USB type-C connection port on it. This is a great design choice because this means that the L-shaped cable can be flipped for left-handed use. This is because USB type-C ports are symmetrical and can be plugged in either direction.

The included cable is a combined cable which goes from the USB type-C on the tablet to USB type-A and HDMI on the computer, and a longer cable to a power outlet. The cable must be connected to a power outlet or else the tablet will not power on.After that turn on the tablet, then you’ll see the desktop of your laptop. The display quality is very good.

Drawing Experience

With all the high value features, the drawing experience on the XP-Pen Artist 12 was really great. The pressure sensitivity of the pen can be felt immediately when the pen touched the surface. This helps on making the desired pressure strokes like on an actual paper.

It is easy to say that the drawing tablet is compatible with almost all the well-known drawing software like Adobe Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint etc. Although, if you still have any doubt regarding the software compatibility, you can contact the XP-Pen customer support.

Looking at the slow diagonal line test ( I only truly test my tablets on Clip Studio Paint ) , While drawing straight, no wobble in the lines can be seen that’s pretty good. Which ensure the accuracy of each movement you make on the screen.

If you don’t like the color calibration on the screen, you can always calibrate the colors by going in the OSD settings. After using the tablet continuously for quite some time, the temperature remains in the normal limit thus making it easy to complete your drawing projects ASAP. It can be easily said that the Artist 12 provides one of the best drawing experience in its segment.

The temperature on the tablet stayed quite consistently cool despite drawing on it for hours on end. The only part that gets warm is the top middle part above the screen where it shouldn’t affect anyone, even left-handed people.

I noticed that the pen calibration is pretty good everywhere else even on the edges of the screen.There’s really nothing else I can say about the drawing experience aside from, “it felt really good drawing on it!”

Parallax:

As you know, the XP-Pen has some parallax, while the Cintiq Pro is advertised to have basically none. I experienced "no parallax" with a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 in the past, and I honestly disliked not having any parallax because I couldn't see the cursor under the pen when using very small brush sizes. I am someone who wasn't ever much of a traditional artist, so I've become extremely used to watching the cursor instead of the pen while drawing, so not being able to see the cursor is unfortunately a problem for me. I've found that I actually depend on parallax to be able to see the cursor under the pen. This obviously may not apply to you, but I figured I would mention it as a personal opinion.

What’s Good:

Good color definition on the monitor and good viewing angles, a pleasure to draw on.

Very portable to carry which makes it easy to take from one workplace to another.

One of the few non Wacom pens to offer 8000 levels of pressure sensitivity.

Yeah, XP-Pen Artist 12 Pen Tablet Monitor is one of the finest tablet you can find at under $300 price tag. There are so many great things about this drawing monitor like portable and compact design, anti-glare 11.6 inch display, battery-less pen, 8000+ level of pressure sensitivity, pen tilt functionality, programmable keys, and Type-C interface. Does it a lot of good stuff right? But wait there are more awesome things too like negligible parallax,pen stand with extra tips, and the ability to be used by either left-handed or right-handed function without any issue.

All these features combined makes the Artist 12 one of the most compelling option for those who are looking for a high value for money drawing tablet.

I‘ve been a Wacom user for many many years and they make some of the best pen tablets/displays on the market today. In my entire design/development career, Wacom is my go to brand when it comes to the “design” part of my job. Started using their bamboo tablets when I was just starting out and immediately upgraded to their Intuos line after a year. After another year of working with their pen tablets, I decided to invest on their Cintiq pen display lineup which is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made (and also one of the most expensive ) Right now, I currently own their Cintiq 13 HD and their latest Cintiq Pro 16 (which costed me an arm and a leg .

My “always Wacom” mindset towards pen tablets/displays began to change when the amazing people at XP-PEN sent over one of their latest products for me to test out. I’ve been hearing a lot about these 3rd party pen displays since last year (via ads and youtube videos) and honestly, I’m really skeptical if it’ll be on par with the experience I had with Wacom over the years. XP-PEN’s pen display took roughly 3 weeks to arrive and used it for roughly a month in my professional and personal projects. Does it stack up with Wacom? Let’s find out!

Please note that I will not be showing the unboxing part of this review nor will I showcase what’s inside the box. This review will focus on the actual Drawing Tablet itself, how it performs in real world situations, and if it’s something that’s viable for professional work.

The overall build of the device is actually pretty good. It’s made out of high quality materials that doesn’t feel cheap. The overall dimension is also small for a 16” pen display. They made it possible by reducing the bezel thickness around the display. This is a good design choice as it doesn’t eat a lot of space in your desk. Also, upon unboxing it for the very first time, I did notice the screen has some kind of a screen protector installed. Aside from protecting the glass panel, this thin film adds texture to the drawing surface of the pen display which is pretty subjective depending on who’s going to use it. Some users want their pen display to have a smooth surface while others (like me) likes it to have some kind of texture for that pen and paper feel. Shortcut buttons installed on the left side of the display are also “clicky” and not squishy (I’m looking at you Wacom Cintiq 13 HD). It would be better though if they included another set of shortcut buttons on the right side for left handed users.

The built in stand is a bit wobbly at times depending on the angle but it’s pretty stable when you’re actually working on it.The Artist Display 16 Pro also comes with a stand which is already pre-installed out of the box. The built in stand is flexible enough to support different angles depending on how you intend to work. It has an easy to use lever that you can pull whenever you want to change the angle of the display. The stand also has rubber feet and so far it does its job preventing the device from sliding on your desk when working.

The built in stand is a bit wobbly at times depending on the angle but it’s pretty stable when you’re actually working on it. Try to experiment with the different angles as I find some angles are much more stable compared to others. Also, it looks like the display supports the VESA mounting standard since you can unscrew the stand at the back. I haven’t tested it yet though.

Connections

Powering up this device is pretty straightforward. It comes with 3 cables that you need to “cable manage” to get the cleanest setup possible. There’s one cable for power, one HDMI cable for display, and one USB-A for data. I was actually expecting this device to have a single usb-c cable that will handle power, display, and data but maybe in the next version? (right XP-PEN?)

Screen

Let’s now talk about the screen which is the main selling point of this particular model. XP-PEN’s Artist Display 16 Pro has a full 1080p display with 92% Adobe RGB. Now, I’m not a color guy and the only way for me to check this out is by comparing the screen of the pen displays I currently own. Based on my tests, the screen of the Artist Display 16 Pro is much much better compared to my Wacom’s Cintiq 13 HD (which if I’m not mistaken, only has 72% Adobe RGB and is much more expensive to boot). Comparing it to my Wacom Cintiq 16 Pro… well… It’s not there yet but I’m not surprised since the Cintiq 16 Pro screen is 4k and costs three times the price of XP-Pen’s Artist 16 Pro.

Viewing angles are pretty good too. I tried working with some of my UI design projects using this pen display and didn’t notice any major color shifts when looking at different angles. I also love how the textured film that covers the entire display makes the screen “matte”. It does diffuse the colors quite a bit, but I’d rather have a matte screen than a reflective one since I use multiple monitors and glossy screens tend to reflect everything (including my face ).

…the screen of the Artist Display 16 Pro is much much better compared to my Wacom’s Cintiq 13 HD.

One thing I noticed when I turned it on for the first time is the screen looks already calibrated. It means you won’t have to tinker with the display settings and you can already start using the device for work out of the box. In case you’re not happy with the ones you have, the Artist Display 16 Pro has configuration buttons hidden on the right hand side of the display. From there, you can adjust the usual parameters like the brightness, contrast, sharpness, and color temps. My only comment is the configuration UI looks dated and sometimes a bit confusing to to use.You can also adjust additional display parameters via installing the driver/software that you can download on XP-PEN’s official support page. Please don’t use the installer included on the package because there’s a chance that it’s already outdated.

Parallax

Not really good at explaining stuff but a parallax is the distance between the pen tip and your mouse cursor which is basically being separated by a glass panel that covers your pen display. The thicker the glass, the larger the space between your pen tip and cursor. This creates an annoying effect where the strokes you generate are not matching with your pen’s position and is somewhat “offset”. Parallax are sometimes a normal thing when it comes to pen displays and it all comes down to how small that spacing is between your pen tip and your mouse cursor. My Wacom Cintiq 13 HD has a mild parallax while my Wacom Cintiq Pro 16 has virtually zero parallax because the glass is as close as possible to the actual drawing surface – but it’s also much more expensive.

XP-PEN’s Artist Display 16 Pro does have parallax and it’s not that bad in my opinion. You will only see it if you try to look for it.XP-PEN’s Artist Display 16 Pro does have parallax and it’s not that bad in my opinion. You will only see it if you try to look for it. It’s more obvious if you check it at certain angles, but if you’re actively working and have consistent strokes, you won’t really notice it. I’m used to my Wacom Cintiq 16 Pro which have virtually zero parallax and though I immediately noticed some parallax when I switched to XP-PEN’s Artist Display 16 Pro, it didn’t really affected my overall drawing experience. For the price your paying for this device, a bit of parallax is something I can live with.

Pen

XP-PEN’s Artist Display 16 Pro includes 2 pens which is not very common for pen displays. The second pen is marked as a “gift” so I’m not really sure if it’s the same for other people. The pen is also battery powered (yeah you have to charge it). So far, I’ve been using it for like a month now and I haven’t charge the pen yet. The pen is also very comfortable to hold because of the soft rubbery grip. It’s very similar to Wacom’s pen design in terms of overall looks :P I sometimes get confused when picking up the pen on my desk because they look almost the same. Unfortunately, the pen lacks tilt support and it can be a deal breaker for some.

It has 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity (same with Cintiq 16 Pro). My Wacom Cintiq 13 HD has 2048. Could you tell the difference? In my opinion, yes you can.

I’ve been using the pen for a month now and I haven’t charge it yet.

It has 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity (same with Cintiq 16 Pro). My Wacom Cintiq 13 HD has 2048. Could you tell the difference? In my opinion, yes you can. The pressure sensivity is evident specially if you’re a light sketcher like me. It’s easy to get thin controlled lines and pen activation requires the least amount of force on the display’s drawing surface. The increased pen sensitivity allows you to create more controlled strokes without having to mess with the pen pressure settings using the the software.

There’s some slight “wobble” in my diagonal lines specially if I draw it slowly. It disappears if you do it quickly though.

I tested the pen further by drawing diagonal lines (using a ruler) and I did notice some slight wobble. The wobble will only appear if you try to draw your diagonal lines slowly and disappears when you try to do it quickly. I think this is one of the drawbacks of battery powered pens compared to the non-powered ones. I draw fast so this isn’t really an issue for me.

XP-PEN included a very nice cylindrical carying case for your pen which also contains your extra pen nibs. The left part of the case is where your pen is located. The cap that covers it also functions as a pen stand. On the far right side is where your extra pen nibs are being kept. There are 8 extra pen nibs and the cap that covers it also has a pen nib remover built in. I haven’t changed pen nibs even with my old pen displays, but extra pen nibs are always welcome.

Drawing Experience

Using the pen display on actual work is not really that different compared to my Wacom pen displays. It works wonderful on both Windows and macOS. I was able to churn out and finish the same type of work I do with my Wacom. The textured drawing surface also makes sketching much more enjoyable because it feels like real paper. Be careful though as the film gets easily scratched by sharp objects – and nope, it doesn’t get scratched when using the pen. For the best possible experience, make sure to to calibrate your pen using the driver/software before using the device. The calibration is straightforward and very similar to Wacom where you need to click (via pen) crosshairs that appears on the screen.

It works wonderful on both Windows and macOS.There’s one minor issue I experienced when I’m using the device. Sometimes the cursor “jumps” if you try to hover/point it to one of the display’s four corners. This usually happens when I have to click something that is located on the bottom left or bottom right of the screen or if a window is maximized and i have to close it. Doesn’t really happen every time but I just thought I’d mention.

Verdict

XP-PEN’s Artist 16 Pro Pen Display is a great alternative if you’re looking to improve your current drawing work flow. The build is great and the display’s not-so-thick bezels improves the pen display’s overall aesthetics. It has a small footprint for a 16” pen display so you won’t have any problems making it fit in your work desk. The drawing experience is almost identical to the more expensive Wacom though it has a few shortcomings like the pen’s lack of tilt support which might be a deal breaker for some people.

Overall, if you’re looking for a great pen display but is on a budget, I highly recommend XP-PEN. I was really skeptical at first with these 3rd party brands since I’ve been using Wacom for many years. Turns out, they deliver the same experience for like a third of Wacom’s price! Yes, it does not have the same premium feel and 4k screen like Wacom’s latest offering, but if you’re goal is create amazing artworks without breaking the bank, then the Artist 16 pro Drawing Monitor will not disappoint you. Deadpool approves!

For more information about this particular model, you can visit their official website.

In the retouching world, graphics tablets are pretty much a standard for everyone from students to professional artists. I don’t know of many retouchers that only use their mouse to get the job done. Graphics tablets allow for a more precise, and thus refined, work. They also used to cost a fair amount of money, but that was until XP-Pen came along. Here are seven things you didnÂ’'t know a graphic tablet could do:Replace your mouse. Combine the flat surface of your tablet with your pen tool to completely take over the job of your mouse.Reduce your chance of repetitive strain injury. Use the better ergonomics of your tabletÂ’s stylus (compared to your mouse) to reduce your risk of injury and find wrist pain relief.Draw with no lag. TodayÂ’s graphic tablets perfectly simulate the experience of drawing with a pen and paper, with no delay between the movement of your hand and the results on the screen.Provide incredible artistic versatility. The combination of a tabletÂ’s digital platform and good pressure sensitivity lets you control enhancements such as brush size, opacity, flow, hue and texture.Write on documents. You can use your tablet to draw on Word documents and make handwritten edits Â– in different color ink!Use touch capabilities. With a tabletÂ’s touch features, you can move your cursor, and use gestures to rotate your canvas or make it bigger or smaller.Create almost anything. With your tablet, you can make annotations, edit photos, illustrate comic books, draw animations, and render 3D models.

Recently, XP-Pen updated their Deco tablet line with a new version of the Deco 02. With many tweaks, the new version is definitely a step apart from the old. Find out if it's worth the upgrade!

If you're not editing with a tablet, you should really consider it. A mouse is great, but the act of drawing is so natural to photo editing that tablets are the perfect extension — the modern canonical tool, if you will.The XP-Pen Deco 02 Pen Tablet is a flexible graphical tablet that can be used to digitize your work, and by flexible, we don't mean bendable. By itself, the Deco 02 is a standard drawing tablet that connects to your system via USB . It has eight customizable ExpressKeys and a Touch Ring to assist you with your workflow, and comes with the XP-Pen Advanced P06 passive pen, which has 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity.

Specifications

The large versions XP-Pen Deco 02 come with eight customizable ExpressKeys and feature 8,192 levels of pressure, 5,080 lines/in resolution, 266 points/second reporting, USB connectivity, and a multi-function touch ring. What's impressive is that at 1.54 pounds and with an overall footprint of 35,6 x 20,3 x 0,9 cm, it's barely bigger than the older small version, making it highly portable and great for tossing in your laptop bag to edit on the go. Also included are 8 replacement nibs , a texture sheet sample card, color identification rings, a 1.5m USB cable , a Multi-function Pen Holder, a drawing glove,and documents.

The tablet is really gorgeous to look at. It's sleek and sophisticated and a testament to the fact that black is always in style. It's pleasingly light, enough so that I often grab it off my desk and curl up in my chair with it to edit. The ExpressKeys and touch ring button provide excellent tactile feedback with predictable travel, much like a good mechanical keyboard, which helps to keep you in the flow when working. The touch ring is responsive and smooth and forms a pleasingly deep indent: it guides your thumb through the ring very well, making it easier to keep your eyes on the screen. In addition, the USB connection point is solid and secure.

Most important, however, is the pen-to-surface interaction, which I'm pleased to report is excellent. The surface is a bit coarse, almost like resume paper, and I found in practice that the slight uptick in friction made my strokes more accurate. The best way to describe it would be moving from a gel pen to a good fountain pen. Keep in mind that you can swap out the texture sheet for one with a different feel should you so desire. The drawback to this is that the nibs do tend to wear down a bit more quickly.

The tablet did a perfect job of ignoring my palm, but was impressively responsive and accurate both with pen and multi-finger gestures, of which it can recognize up to 10 fingers (this can be turned off with the side switch), allowing me to also use it like a MacBook trackpad. The rubber feet that run the length of the tablet keep it secure when it's on a desk. I found the active area of the medium to be perfect for editing photos: enough room to travel as needed, but contained enough to minimize unnecessary movement, increasing efficiency and decreasing fatigue. On a side note, you’ll be pleased to note that the tablet is vertically symmetrical, so left-handed users are not at any sort of disadvantage.

XP-Pen Deco 02 Graphics Drawing Tablet – P06 Pen Stylus

The battery free pen stylus is another big plus for me. It is not as ‘clunky’ as a lot of graphics drawing pens I have reviewed are and has a nice thin profile with ergonomic shaping to the barrel. XP-PEN new advanced P06 passive pen was made for a traditional pencil-like feel! Specially designed for the Deco 02, it delivers a fashionable and technical sense. Comfortable grip and high efficiency! A unique hexagonal design, non-slip & tack-free flexible glue grip, partial transparent pen tip, and an eraser at the end.

The P06 passive pen is stellar. It's ever so slightly less tapered and the center of mass is just below halfway up the pen, allowing it to naturally sit against your knuckle comfortably without feeling top-heavy and while gripping the surface well. Over the course of a long editing session, you'll definitely come to appreciate the improved ergonomics. The buttons on the pen have good tactile feedback without being difficult to press. In particular, the top button sits a bit lower now, making it easier to access. I particularly appreciated that the side buttons are now much more flush with the body of the pen. This means you just have to slide your thumb up to use them as opposed to slightly lifting it. While that may seem minor, you can easily make this motion a couple thousand times in an editing session and keeping your grip consistent as opposed to constantly re-gripping the pen is significant when it comes to fatigue prevention.

I use LAMY Calligraphy pens for pen and ink drawing and they have a very similar design this makes the drawing experience much more comfortable. Round pens tend to make your hands hurt and often cramp up after prolonged use.The pen itself can stand vertically or lay flat on the base.

The pen stylus draws beautifully and is one of the best graphics drawing tablet pens that I have used. Due in part to the ergonomically shaped barrel and also to the excellent responsiveness.

The stylus has 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity which is a big step up from the general standards of 2048 LPS. As technology advances the drawing experience gets much closer to the real thing. On saying that a graphics drawing tablet can in some ways be better than the real thing!

XP-Pen Deco 02 Digital Drawing Tablet – Pen Stand and Spare Nib StoreWith the pen is another great feature the pen stand. It has a nice weight so it’s not going to be rattling around the table and doesn’t take up much room.

XP-Pen.com have got it just about right with awaiting stylish pen on the holder.XP-Pen multi-function pen holder is included to keep your pen and pen nibs safe. You can use it as a pen stand or a pen holder, taking it wherever you go.

The stand is approx.1.5 inch square with a domed top. It has a neat feature as XP-Pen have designed this to store the 8 spare nibs. With a simple twist action the pen stand separated into two pieces with the bottom half securely containing the nibs. The base of the pen holder has a small slot to extract nibs and replace them in the pen stylus.

InterfaceThe software interface is quite good, offering a great balance of usability and customizability. Pressing the settings key brings up the Express View Display, which offers a quick rundown of all your parameters and the ability to click over to more advanced settings.

In the full interface, you can adjust most any setting globally or in application-specific styles. You can change the feel and sensitivity of the pen and eraser, create one-to-five-finger gestures, create multi-key macros to be assigned to ExpressKeys, and essentially customize the Deco 02 exactly as you please to match your workflow. In practice, I never had problems with it properly switching command sets between applications, and there was never any lag in doing so, allowing me to quickly jump back and forth between Photoshop and Lightroom while working.

Since it’s a mid-range tablet aimed at those who draw digitally, it has a pretty good variety of hotkeys. 8 of them: undo, change brush size, pan, zoom and erase. The middle two that are set in a yin-yang pattern are for zooming. I’m not a fan of buttons for zoom because it makes photoshop either zoom in really fast or out all the way with no control for in between. It does kind of work better when your canvas area is really big though, like in the thousands of pixels. Still not the same feeling of control as a scroll-wheel. I zoom in and out very quickly to check my composition and rough values, so it was a big hassle taking my hands off the tablet to reach for the keyboard hotkeys. This is probably the #1 thing I dislike the most about this tablet. If they had just changed it out for a scroll-wheel or sliding control strip, something with incremental zoom, it would have been perfect.

XP-Pen Deco 02 Digital Drawing Tablet – Installing the Tablet DriverThings that really bug me about any gadget, that requires some form of installation is the lack of information on how to install / program the device.

Thankfully the instructions for the Deco 02 were easy to follow and worked first time I downloaded the driver from the XP-Pen.com web site. It placed the Pen Tablet Setting application in my applications folder (program files in Windows) and a shortcut on the desktop (optional).

The Pen Tablet Setting App allows you to tailor the shortcut keys to different software that you may use. I find it off putting when any gadgets get so complicated that you end up being overdosed with technical capability. However, xp-pen.com have got it cracked.

On the top surface of the tablet are four white right angled markers which light up to indicate the active area thus defining your drawing space. These ‘landing lights’ are a nice feature as it allows you to see exactly where the active area is when drawing in lower lighting and even in pitch dark conditions. It also adds to the stylish look of the tablet.

The drawing area on this is 10 in x 5.63 in, which is very, very good at the same price point as a Wacom bamboo, which only has a 5.8 in x 3.6 in drawing area. This size active area is good for monitors around 15″-17″. It has 8192 levels of sensitivity and I have not noticed any difference between the sensitivity of this and my XP-Pen. The tablet is wired and hooked up to your computer by a USB-C connector .The cable is 1.5m in length which is a decent size to work with.

Drawing Performance

The default level of sensitivity works very well. It's no different from any Wacom tablets I've used.

You can get the tapered strokes at the start, thick strokes, and tapered ends easily. The stylus is able to detect the slightest of contact on the surface. It supports 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity but not tilt.These are some hatching lines drawn very quickly with the stylus.A close up on those hatching lines shows that they are smooth. No jitter at all.The strokes also come out without any lag.

Graphics Tablet Anti Fouling Glove Included

One thing I really liked was the inclusion of the tablet glove in this set. For those on the tight budget it is one less item to buy amounts another tick in the box for XP-Pen.com.

For those who have never used a graphics tablet glove they are a fantastic asset to have as they keep your hand gliding smoothly with the pen (particularly when your hands get clammy in hot weather) and also keep the tablet surface dust free.

PriceAt almost $100 it is very affordable. More than affordable actually, but I don't want to say that too much, or I am afraid XP-Pen might raise their prices. You may have noticed, I compared the Wacom Intuos Pro Medium to my XP-Pen Deco 02 a fair bit. But the reason behind this comparison is very simple. I wanted to emphasize the fact that this product is available at a price lower than the Wacom Intuos Pro while offering a quality and size close to that of a Wacom Intuos Pro Medium! For some people the XP-Pen might actually be even better, depending on the pen and surfacing you like best.

What I LikedExtremely low price. It’s hard to overpraise the affordability of this tablet. If your budget is extra tight and you’re looking for a good entry-level tablet, look no further than XP-Pen Deco 02.Excellent pen. An advanced number of pressure levels, good performance, and eight extra nibs. so you can create with the accuracy and precision of traditional brushes and pens. Control line width and opacity based on how lightly you touch the pen to the tablet surface.Great set of shortcut buttons. Modern tablets are all about providing that extra value when you’re using a specialized software, and XP-Pen Deco 02 takes things even further. 1 Touch Ring + 6 more function keys = a dream-tier beginner’s tablet.Solid build quality. I wasn’t expecting much from such a cheap tablet, but XP-Pen Deco 02 managed to surprise me – in a good way. The tablet looks and feels very solid, and its large active area is a huge advantage over other low-price tablets.

What Could Be Improved

Nibs wear out fairly quickly.Overall, the new Digital Graphics Drawing Tablet XP-Pen Deco 02 is an absolute joy to use and saves me tremendous time in my work, which is why I highly suggest anyone add a tablet to their workflow, as it'll pay for itself in the time you save. Interested in picking up your own? Grab it here.

Conclusion

The drawing functionality is more than satisfactory, very good.Not a perfect tablet by far, but probably the best you’re going to get for this price. Great performance that rivals the Wacom Intuos Pro , In many regards, this tablet is comparable to Wacom Intuos Pro, and I would like to pick the Deco 02, XP-Pen Deco 02 is an excellent pick for everyone. it is a good choice if you’re on a budget and looking for a cheap solution.

This pen tablet combines XP-Pen's finest pen capabilities . Gain precision and control, speed your workflow, and take advantage of all the pressure-sensitive capabilities in your favorite creative software, thanks to the innovations built into the XP-Pen.

In the retouching world, graphics tablets are pretty much a standard for everyone from students to professional artists. I don’t know of many retouchers that only use their mouse to get the job done. Graphics tablets allow for a more precise, and thus refined, work. They also used to cost a fair amount of money, but that was until XP-Pen came along. Here are seven things you didnÂ’'t know a graphic tablet could do:Replace your mouse. Combine the flat surface of your tablet with your pen tool to completely take over the job of your mouse.Reduce your chance of repetitive strain injury. Use the better ergonomics of your tabletÂ’s stylus (compared to your mouse) to reduce your risk of injury and find wrist pain relief.Draw with no lag. TodayÂ’s graphic tablets perfectly simulate the experience of drawing with a pen and paper, with no delay between the movement of your hand and the results on the screen.Provide incredible artistic versatility. The combination of a tabletÂ’s digital platform and good pressure sensitivity lets you control enhancements such as brush size, opacity, flow, hue and texture.Write on documents. You can use your tablet to draw on Word documents and make handwritten edits Â– in different color ink!Use touch capabilities. With a tabletÂ’s touch features, you can move your cursor, and use gestures to rotate your canvas or make it bigger or smaller.Create almost anything. With your tablet, you can make annotations, edit photos, illustrate comic books, draw animations, and render 3D models.

Recently, XP-Pen updated their Deco tablet line with a new version of the Deco 02. With many tweaks, the new version is definitely a step apart from the old. Find out if it's worth the upgrade!

If you're not editing with a tablet, you should really consider it. A mouse is great, but the act of drawing is so natural to photo editing that tablets are the perfect extension — the modern canonical tool, if you will.The XP-Pen Deco 02 Pen Tablet is a flexible graphical tablet that can be used to digitize your work, and by flexible, we don't mean bendable. By itself, the Deco 02 is a standard drawing tablet that connects to your system via USB . It has eight customizable ExpressKeys and a Touch Ring to assist you with your workflow, and comes with the XP-Pen Advanced P06 passive pen, which has 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity.

Titre du blog : graphicstabletDescription : XP-Pen is an professional and reliable supplier of graphics tablets,pen display monitors,light pads,
stylus pens and more digital graphical products. In 2005, XP-Pen was founded in Japan ,We have
13 years of experience in tablet device manufacturing ,we are the Brand Recommendation of Amazon.
Dernière mise à jour : 12/12/2018